The Way Out
by Amulet Misty
Summary: '- he didn't tell Tensei that he's visiting today. Though, does it count as 'visiting' if he's now admitted to the very same hospital' - Tenya Iida meets an unfamiliar face at the hospital. [TSoS 2019: Hexa-Code Kernel]


**The Way Out**

There's already somebody inside.

He can tell by the muffled exchange he can hear, standing outside the door to his brother's hospital room. His arm is already half-raised, though his intention to knock is slipping away from him by the second. It might be rude of him to interrupt. Especially since he hasn't told Tensei that he's visiting today.

Though, does it count as 'visiting' if he's now admitted to the very same hospital?

Tenya is sure that by now Tensei would know what he's done. That he went after the Hero Killer Stain. He must, because his mother came into his hospital room wailing, asking him what he was thinking and that she couldn't bear that both of her sons have been hurt. Stain's capture is public news by now, but that doesn't stop the pained look in her eyes and the tears that rolled down her face. He regrets causing his mother to go through that. His mother visited Tensei after that and he thinks she would have told him.

He is also sure that if Tensei knows that, then he also knows the motivation behind his actions. The words that Stain said to him still ring in his ears, fresh; he knows that a true hero would never act the way he did.

He backs away, intending to go back to his own room. He's already a few steps away from the room when he hears the door slide open. "I'll tell Pop that you like the flowers. I'll bring her and Gramps along next time we visit!"

The person isn't someone familiar to Tenya, something he finds odd as he didn't think that there would be any visitors outside of family or close friends coming around so soon. Brown, wide eyes met his own and they only widen further after seemingly recognising him. "Is there something wrong?" his brother asks. Tenya gives a shake of his head, hoping that the stranger understands.

"Nope. Just got distracted." Apparently, he does.

"Don't go staring after nurses." The tone is mostly joking, Tenya thinks.

"I won't! Gotta run. See you soon!"

The man slides the door back shut and then steps towards Tenya. "Wow, you guys _do _look alike. You're the younger Iida brother, huh? It's Tenya, right?"

From afar, the man's lanky build made Tenya think that he must be taller than him, though up close Tenya is certain that he is not.

Tenya gives the person a nod. "I'm Koichi Haimawari, nice to finally meet you. I've been friends with your brother for a while."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too," says Tenya, returning the greeting. He hasn't heard this man's name before. Then again, it's not like Tensei shares everything with him.

"So, how come you're hiding out here?"

_Because I'm ashamed to see my brother._

He can hardly say that to a stranger, though, can he?

"I didn't want to interrupt you." It's an answer that's true, if not whole.

He can see Haimawari nodding along. "Always good to see young 'uns keeping polite." Tenya doesn't think Haimawari is that old himself, mid-twenties at most but he keeps that comment to himself. "Say, what's wrong with your arm?"

The involvement of him, Midoriya and Todoroki in Stain incident is supposed to be confidential, so he chooses his next few words a bit more carefully. "I was participating in the U.A. Sports Festival recently. I faced a very tough opponent." Again, true.

"Yeah, I know! Great job in that, by the way. I was totally rooting for you to win that round," says Haimawari enthusiastically. "I even bet that you would win! Not that you did but at least I didn't bet too much, haha."

"Oh…I'm sorry." Tenya is unsure how he feels to hear that he was being bet on but he supposes he isn't that surprised judging by how many people watch the sports festival.

"Uh no, man I mean, I'm sure you felt worse than me." Haimawari tries to backtrack his words but stumbles again. "I don't think you should feel worse, by the way. Just saying." There's a pause. "I'm pretty sure I watched that whole match. I don't remember seeing anything happen to your arm."

His shoulders tense up.

There must be something about his expression too because the man scratches at his face awkwardly.

"Ahaha, whoops I shouldn't pry too much," he says, sheepishly. "It's alright, I got into all sorts of mess when I was in high school. Even after that too when I was in uni. Kinda went looking for it, really. I'm not trying to say that you would be looking for trouble, I mean. You're Ingenium's brother, of course, so I'm sure – "

"I went after Stain." The words escape him, the moment 'Ingenium' is mentioned. He wants to stuff the words back into his mouth not even a second later, but the damage is done and the Haimawari gapes at him.

"That's…well…"

The conversation comes to another pause as a nurse passes by with equipment. She asks whether they are lost and Haimawari hastily tells her that they are fine. She gives them a bemused look but continues along her way. Haimawari scratches the back of his head, attention back to Tenya after she leaves.

"Uh, sorry about your arm but guess you got him, huh?"

Tenya blinks rapidly, confused about that response.

"You don't think I was being reckless?"

"Sure, you were. Stendha – wait I mean – Stain's a scary dude." He shudders visibly. "Seriously. I wouldn't want to take him on all on my own. Or did you not go alone? Wait, you probably can't tell me, never mind. Anyway, judging from that TV broadcast guess the pro heroes showed up in the end. But hey, reckless or not pretty brave of you to go after him."

"It wasn't brave of me…it was stupid." Tenya ducks his head down. "I wanted to fight him not to save anyone but to avenge my brother. And I used Ingenium's name…I brought dishonour towards his name because it wasn't what a hero should do."

"I guess not." Haimawari shrugs. "At least that's what Stain _says. _I get it but I think that people have different reasons for fighting. If you still are fighting for a just cause, I think that still makes you a hero."

"If I want to be a true pro hero, I can't just go picking fights for my own selfish reasons…"

He can feel Haimawari's eyes on him and he wonders if its pity that he's showing.

"Don't know if this will make you feel any better," Haimawari starts, "but I was pretty mad myself when I heard what happened to Ingenium. I would've probably tried to track him down too."

That gives Tenya a surprise. "You're not a hero, are you?" He's not as knowledgeable as Midoriya on the specifics but he's sure he would recognise most pro heroes.

"Uh, nope. Just a huge fan." Haimawari gestures down to the All Might hoodie tied around his waist. "But I am what you'd probably call a…" He lowers his voice, eyes shifting left and right. "A vigilante."

"Huh?" Tenya exclaims. "Being a vigilante is _illegal." _He gestures sharply, waving his hands up and down.

Haimawari makes shushing noises at him. "I mean by definition, yeah." Once Tenya has stopped moving his arms, Haimawari relaxes again. "But sometimes, even without the professional qualifications, you just gotta do what you feel is right. I mean, your brother knows that I'm a vigilante. Ever heard about The Crawler?"

"The cruller?"

"No – why does everyone keep getting it wrong – the _Crawler_." Haimawari sighs. "Whatever. I'll take that as a no. It's probably for the best. Anyway yeah, as a vigilante, I'll tell you I've met people who use their Quirks for all types of reasons. Saving people, revenge, just to gain a few bucks. I don't necessarily disagree that 'pro heroes' should be all honourable but they're all still human just like everyone else. Don't beat yourself up over wanting to fight in your brother's place."

A vigilante…He's always been taught by his family that if they were to be heroes, they have to do it the right way. Yet, he's being told that his brother _knows _a vigilante.

As if able to read his mind, Haimawari continues, "Yes, so what I'm saying is. Your brother's turned a blind eye even though my friends and I aren't really supposed to be doing what we do. He's not the only pro hero to do that, just so you know." He smiles. "I bet you'll be a great pro hero and I'm sure he's already proud of you for how well you've done so far. He probably won't like that you got hurt trying to avenge him but I don't think you have to worry about him thinking you've shamed or disappointed him. I think he'll understand."

"I – I see."

Tenya takes in the words, feeling some of the guilt he was feeling leave him. He wonders if that's all he wanted, for someone else to tell him that he's not completely wrong for what he did. He does want to do things the _right _way. Though perhaps he could consider that there could be more ways than one, if necessary.

"Thank you very much!" Tenya bowed, back bent at a perfect 90-degree angle.

"Oh – oh!" Haimawari bowed too, very quickly. "No problem. Just think of it as a pep talk from someone who's also been attacked by Stain."

"E-eh?" _Also?! _"I didn't see that in the news!"

"Oh, it was years ago," Haimawari says in an unbelievably dismissive done. "I think the current Stain would have made mincemeat out of me, so I'm just lucky it wasn't a recent encounter. Anyway…" He trails off, eyes moving back towards Tensei's door. "You should probably just go talk to him yourself."

It's still a bit daunting. He's still afraid of what his brother might say.

_But maybe it won't be as bad as I first thought. _

He nods slowly, thanking Haimawari once again.

"I should probably actually get going now," the man says. "It was great meeting you, though. When Ingenium's all better, we should all go and get some curry or something."

"With the rest of your friends?"

"Sure thing. I'm sure they'll love to meet you." He shoots Tenya a wink. "And hey, if you ever wanna run with us for a while, you're welcome to." Clearing his throat, he says, "Okay, I was going for 'cool' but I don't think it quite hit that. The offer still stands though, for whenever."

Tenya gives him another bow. "I will keep that in mind."

He stares at the door, once again.

His arm is half-raised.

He will tell his brother about the incident and will probably apologise for going after Stain.

However, his head will not hang low.

x

In a few months, when Bakugo is taken and they have to make the choice of whether to attempt a rescue Tenya realises that he has taken Koichi Haimawari's advice to heart. Perhaps it is inevitable that the way out of that situation is to break a few more rules.

Tenya doesn't think it'll be the last time he does so on the way to becoming a pro hero, either.

* * *

**A/N: Tadaa! Week 2 and still rolling. This time the prompt is "Define()". Anyway, I just really like the Vigilante series and I've wanted to write for Iida for a while so…here we are. So there's mixed talked about intentions and methods here and I don't know if the 'define' themed is used as well as it could be but I enjoyed writing this nevertheless. One of these weeks I'll write something not as conversation-heavy but today is not that week lol (Also, there is no Koichi option...aww...)**

**Hope you enjoyed reading this, anyway!**

**Dina 16/06/2019**


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